In this day and age it is not an easy task to describe in a few pages the current status of any scientific discipline. This is particularly difficult if one deals with a n area such as analytical chemistry in France which is on the upswing. The present wirteup is focused on developments in French universities since the war: we shall not deal with analytical chemistry in industry, even though chemical companies and the French Atomic Energy Commission have had a paramount influence on recent developments. Indeed, French analytical chemists are being educated mainly to serve the needs of industrial laboratories.